by A. E. Snow
“That sucks. I’m really sorry that happened to you.”
“Do you think I’m being silly?” I focused my attention on the paint peeling off my toenails.
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe I’m tired of HSA anyway. Maybe it would be nice to meet some new people.” I kind of believed that. I would miss seeing Alejandro, but I felt guilty about whatever it was that was happening between us.
I opened my mouth to tell her about Alejandro.
Before I could speak, she said, “Yeah, maybe it would.”
I nodded and closed my mouth. I didn’t want to tell her about Alejandro.
We watched more of the movie. Isla cried at the end, sniffling a little next to me. I chewed on my lip and blinked hard to hold in the tears. To distract myself, I checked my phone and saw that I had two new text messages. One from Alejandro and one from Jack.
Alejandro: My band is playing tonight. You should come. 1178 Claremont Ave. We will play around 9.
Jack: What’s up?
Brow furrowed, I tried to decide what to do.
“Hey, Alejandro’s band is playing.”
“Hmmm,” Isla said and wiped her eyes.
“Nine tonight. You should come.” Should she come? I don’t want to go alone.
“I dunno.” Isla played with the edge of her blanket. “I’m not really in the mood.”
“Please? I think we should do something fun.”
Isla blew her bangs out of her face and stared at the blanket she was slowly unraveling. But in a strange case of role reversal, I wanted to go out and maybe even get drunk and Isla wanted to stay in. It was like Freaky Sunday.
“Is it a house party?” she asked.
I texted Alejandro. Sure. See you there!
“I don’t know. We’ll find out when we get there. But first, let’s go shopping.” I flashed her the credit card that Mom had given me earlier. I was on a strict budget, but it was the first time Mom had trusted me with her credit card and it felt awesome.
Isla glanced at the card, and a smile lit up her face. “Yes to shopping. I will never turn down a shopping trip.” She hauled herself off the bed and stretched.
“Let’s go!” I said.
“You are super outgoing lately.” Twist eyed me suspicion while I picked out accessories. Twist had been moving more of her stuff into the painting studio when I came home from shopping with Isla.
I ignored her. The butterflies in my stomach were having a riot over seeing Alejandro. I hadn’t told Twist about Alejandro either.
Isla and I had gone to a cute little consignment store and gotten a load of stuff. And it was cheap. Then we’d gone to a boutique and I bought a really cute skirt that almost blew my budget.
“Is there a boy?” Twist asked, holding up a soft blue chambray shirt. “I think there’s a boy.”
“I mean, does it matter?” I asked, sifting through an old tin lunchbox full of rings and bracelets. Another upside to having Twist at home was access to her massive jewelry collection.
She looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Of course it matters.”
Refusing to make eye contact, I said, “There might be a boy.”
Twist squeaked. “Who?”
She knew Alejandro so if I told her about him, she’d ask about Emilia and either way I’d be lying. “Just some guy. You don’t know him. Jack’s his name.” Well, there is a Jack. Shut up, conscience.
“Jack, hmmm. And how do you know Jack?”
“I don’t have to answer that. You’re my sister, not my mother. And anyway, I know him from school. I only know people from school.”
“That’s true. It’s probably good for you to get out anyway.”
“That’s what Mom said.” I laughed.
Twist ignored me. She sorted through my freshly dried clothes.
“You don’t even have to try this on. I can already tell it’s perfect.” Twist laid the chambray shirt on the bed with a very light pink skirt that featured both ruffles and sequins, the same skirt that cost more than all of my thrift store stuff combined. It was super cute, but not something I would have picked out for myself. The thought of actually wearing in a public setting filled me with apprehension.
I studied her with one raised an eyebrow.
She stood back and surveyed the bed. She looked over at me. “No. Trust me. Put your hair up in a loose bun. I can do it if you want. And wear your glasses! The thick frames.”
“Fine,” I said and flopped down next to Hank. He spent 90% of his time on my window seat. I scratched his ears and worried that the skirt was too short.
“Let’s do your makeup,” Twist said.
I sat down across from her. “How’s your work?”
Twist frowned and dabbed concealer under my eyes. “Eh. Not great.”
She was having trouble working. Her show would open in ten days whether she was ready or not. I would normally encourage her to work but I needed her help, so I let her do my makeup on the condition that it looked very natural, and my hair on the condition that it wouldn’t be a bouffant. She refused to let me see anything until she was done.
When came at me with the eyeliner pencil, I flinched and blinked.
“Oh God, Meadow. Stop blinking.”
“I’m trying.” I held my eyes open very wide and pretended not to notice the black pencil poking around in my peripheral vision.
Twist puckered her lips the way she does when doing her own makeup. “Are you excited?”
“I’m not going to the prom,” I said with great sarcasm to cover the fact that I was totally nervous.
“Okay, teenager.”
“Where’s Mom?” I asked. “I guess I should tell her what I’m doing.”
Twist stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration while she finished up my eyes. “She’s gone all day and half the night probably. You have my permission. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, otherwise I’ll say you pulled a Ferris Bueller.”
The mascara wand loomed in front of my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Really? You don’t know Ferris Bueller?”
“I guess not.” Flinching, I said, “Of course I won’t. I might spend the night at Isla’s.”
“K.”
I tapped my feet and wrung my hands. I hadn’t seen or heard from Alejandro in almost a week. I’d texted or chatted with Jack a few times. I decided not to worry about Jack for the moment mainly because my lips had not touched his and they had touched Alejandro’s more than once. And I didn’t think two boys at once was something I could handle.
A little tiny voice somewhere deep inside, one that I was trying really hard to suppress, was telling me that I deserved more than a guy that already had a girlfriend. Maybe something that didn’t have to be a secret.
From there, my thoughts wandered to HSA. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to deal with any of that and I just want a fresh start. I’m gonna talk to Dad.
“Done. I only teased your hair a little,” Twist said, backing up.
Isla walked in at the same moment. “Damn.”
“Oh stop.” I turned to look in the mirror. ‘Damn’ is right. I look good. “Thanks, Twist.”
“Oh please,” she said. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You did everything, dummy.” I felt confident and ready and excited instead of anxious. For once.
“Hang on, I gotta send an email.” I sat on my bed with my laptop while Isla and Twist talked.
I opened my email and started a new message. I couldn’t imagine ever picking up a paintbrush again, so what else would I do at HSA? I began with the person that I assumed would be my biggest ally.
My fingers hovered over the keys for a moment and then I took the pl
unge. Dear Dad . . .
The small two-story house was filled to the brim. When we arrived, we squeezed through a crowd so thick, it took ten minutes to get through the front door and find a spot by the staircase where we could somewhat see the band.
“Let’s go classy tonight.” Isla snorted and pulled a bottle of pink wine out of her bag. “I’m glad I thought to open it at home.”
My mouth curled up in a smile. I was one-quarter of the way to my dream of going to a fancy party with something sweet to drink instead of warm beer. “Nice.”
“Well, it’s almost classy. We are going to have to drink it out of the bottle.” Isla flashed me a wicked grin.
“Oof,” I said, getting smashed into Isla by some guy who didn’t even apologize. “A little crowded. Probably against fire code.”
She giggled. “You are so funny.”
I’m not being funny. This is a legitimate concern of mine. I took the bottle when she handed it to me and sputtered on my mouthful of wine.
“Slow down, killer.” Isla nudged my arm.
I glanced around the packed house. Where are everyone’s parents? Where do they all go and leave their children? My mom still won’t let me stay home alone. I pushed my glasses up on my nose while trying not to look like a major dork. I’m like the makeover girl in all the teen movies. Hey, everyone! Welcome to the debut of the new me! Groan.
We waited for the band to show up. I looked around but didn’t see Alejandro anywhere. I did see more than one boy looking in our direction. Probably they are all looking at Isla.
“Do you know any of these people?” she asked, tossing her hair for their benefit.
“Some of them, sort of.” I bobbed my head toward my left. “He goes to HSA and so does that whole crew standing there.”
“I should go to HSA,” Isla whispered, raising her eyebrows.
“I guess they aren’t so bad, as far as their looks are concerned anyway.”
The same tall, black-framed glasses and whooshy-haired guy I’d pointed out broke away from his group and made his way toward us.
He marched right up to Isla and leaned toward her ear. She giggled. I turned my head in the opposite direction and busied myself with my phone.
Isla grabbed my arm. “He asked for my number,” she squealed. Her blue eyes sparkled with glee. She’d cheered up considerably and smiled to herself as she adjusted her fitted, long-sleeved black scoop-neck shirt which she’d tucked into a flared black skirt. She looked like an actress or a ballerina. I could see why everyone wanted to talk to her.
Before I had a chance to say a word, another guy had sidled up to her. Good grief.
I jumped when I felt a hand on my back. I whirled around and came face-to-face with Alejandro. My face relaxed into a smile.
“Wow,” he said.
“Hi.” My face went hot. One of the curses of teenage girl-dom is blushing all the time. I hoped I grew out of it before I turned thirty.
His hand was still on my back in a very not-obvious-to-passersby sort of way. “I’m glad you came. I like the glasses.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” His hand slid down and around my waist.
Would it be possible to die from this?
I cleared my throat. “I can’t wait to hear your band.” It took almost everything I had to not run my fingers through Alejandro’s mess of tangled curls.
“We’re about to start, I think.” He glanced at Isla and my heart sunk.
“Okay.” I chewed on my lip.
“I gotta go,” he said after hearing the drummer warming up.
He squeezed my hip and waded through the crowd toward the makeshift stage, which was really just the corner of the living room next to the fireplace. Whoever’s house this was hadn’t bothered to take down the family portraits. Someone’s grandmother smiled down at the party from the mantle.
“What a weirdo,” Isla was almost yelling. The guy she’d been talking to was gone.
“What happened?”
“Nothing. He wanted my number and to talk about the fantasy novel he’s writing.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued.
“Don’t get excited. It sounded very bad.”
“Oh.”
I could see Declan and Alejandro take the stage. The rest of the band was hidden from my view. They started playing a loud and fast song. Declan sang, but there was no way to discern what he was saying without subtitles. It wasn’t bad, though. Alejandro had the brooding guitar player look down pat and I completely got why groupies existed.
The crowd grew larger and we got smashed against the stairs. Isla elbowed me, held up the bottle, then nodded toward the kitchen.
“Yes!” I followed her, and we squeezed our way to the through until we spilled out into the back garden. Potted plants filled the concrete space and twinkle lights brightened it up.
Isla plopped down on a chair. “I wonder if someone has a cigarette.”
“You don’t smoke,” I pointed out, sitting down next to her.
“I know. But I’d like to right now.”
“It’s still gross.”
She held up the wine bottle and squinted. “Almost gone. I guess we will have to get terrible beer.”
“How do you know it will be terrible?”
“It always is.”
“Oh. I’m kind of new to beer.”
Isla laughed. “How new are you to beer?”
“To party beer? Very new. This is my third party ever.”
Her eyes widened and she laughed.
A bunch of guys came outside right then. I noticed that there were more guys than girls at this party. It wasn’t a terrible thing.
As soon as the new additions to the patio saw Isla, they started roughhousing to show off. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. One of the guys got brave enough to talk to her.
A tall, blond guy stepped up to her and stood in between our chairs, which put his butt right at my face level. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”
Hello, dude, thanks for the view. I shifted in my chair to face a different direction.
“Meadow?”
I looked up expecting to see Alejandro even though I didn’t recognize his voice. Oh shit. “Hi, Jack.” I grinned, but my body tensed up.
“I was going to ask you to come tonight,” he said and frowned slightly. “Did you get my message the other night?”
“Yes. I’ve been having some family drama and I forgot to text you back.” That was partly true, but I felt guilty anyway.
“Oh, okay.” His face relaxed a little. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I think so. Just been kind of a strange week.” That part true anyway.
He sat down next to me in an orange chair that was too small for his lanky frame. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
My heart fluttered, and I shifted in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. In a normal situation, I’d be elated to see Jack, but I just felt confused and a little worried that the band would take a break. “Me, too,” I finally said and dropped my shoulders. They kept creeping up to my ears.
“Have you seen these guys play before?” he asked.
“No,” I said. It was kind of weird that I hadn’t. Emilia never really invited me when she would see them.
“They’ve gotten better,” he said.
I laughed. Unlike everyone else in the concrete garden, Jack wasn’t holding a beer.
“Hi.” Isla caught my eye and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Jack.” He reached over and shook her hand. “I think we met a couple of weeks ago.” She looked impressed. He sat back down and looked back at me. He didn’t seem impressed by her anymore and that made my heart swell up and nearly burst.
He returned his attention to me. “I got some new records. Maybe want to listen to them sometime this week, or something?”
“Sure,” I said. He started talking about the difference in sound on vinyl versus MP3. I had no idea what he was talking about. While he talked, I looked at the contours of his face and thought about how I would paint them, what colors I would need. I wasn’t actually listening to him anymore. It was cute how enthusiastic he was. I remembered that I didn’t feel that way about painting anymore and I sat back and tried to listen. I adjusted my glasses.
He ducked his head near mine. “I like those. I haven’t seen you wearing glasses before.”
My heart fluttered in a different way than before. “Thanks.”
“Are they prescription?” he asked.
I laughed. “Yeah.”
“They, uh, really add to the effect,” he said.
I went hot and dizzy all over. I could feel the blood creeping up my neck and it was on its way to my face. Maybe my big Buddy Holly frames would obscure some of the blush.
Before I could say anything, my phone buzzed in my waistband. I didn’t have any pockets.
Home. Now. It was my mom.
My blush turned into terror.
I stood up. “I have to go.”
Jack unfolded himself from the tiny chair. “Is everything okay?”
“Um, I’m not sure.” I wished I knew what I would be walking into when I opened the front door. A flash of irritation hit me. Twist said she would cover for me. “Do you have any gum?” I asked Jack.
Jack walked me home. Isla had decided to stay at the party as she was surrounded by a bevy of potential suitors.
When we left, Jack said we shouldn’t try to wade through the crowded house. I discreetly told Isla to say goodnight to Alejandro for me. We went through the garden gate and around front to leave.
